


Once in a Lifetime

by babyslutgreed



Series: Nelson & Murdock - Parenthood [3]
Category: Daredevil (Comics), Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Family Vacation, First Time Flyers, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21515758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyslutgreed/pseuds/babyslutgreed
Summary: “I don’t think she’s technically myaunt. I’m pretty sure she’s one of my dad’s cousins, maybe. As for choosing us? Who knows? Maybe she really liked a homemade gift I gave her as a kid or maybe it’s a solidarity thing? She caused quite a stir when she brought Zainab to Thanksgiving dinner back in the nineties” Foggy shrugs. “Or maybe she just put a bunch of names in a hat, and I'm the lucky cousin-once-removed.”That gets a chuckle out of Matt. “Does that make me the lucky cousin-once-removed-in-law?”“Well, it does now!” Foggy laughs.;;The Nelson-Murdock family is going on vacation!
Relationships: Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Series: Nelson & Murdock - Parenthood [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1516844
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Once in a Lifetime

Sometimes, Matt wonders if there is a Nelson living in each of the fifty states. He wouldn’t necessarily consider that a bad thing, but it remains confusing. Matt has known Foggy his entire adult life. Matt’s spent several holiday seasons, beginning well before he and Foggy were officially dating, with the Nelsons, he likes to consider himself fairly well versed with the family tree, especially since he is now a part of it, a thought that causes a warm feeling to settle in his chest. 

But every few months, Foggy will mention some relative of his, and Matt gets lost. The latest is Foggy’s Aunt Bridget who moved out of New York to live in North Carolina for her retirement years. Matt’s only hearing about her because she and her wife are going on a cruise and have extended and offer of a week at their beach house while they are away. 

“Technically, we’d be housesitting, but a vacation does sound nice,” Foggy says once he’s finished reading Aunt Bridget’s email out loud. “We have a few days before we have to get back to her, and their cruise isn’t until next month. What do you think?” 

Matt hesitates. He agrees with Foggy, a vacation does sound nice, but he’s never been out of New York. He’s never had a reason to. Even when he married Foggy, they couldn’t exactly afford to leave their firm for a fully-fledged honeymoon. Their long weekend at an Airbnb in Brooklyn was more than enough in Matt’s books. 

“I’m for it, but I’m a little lost as to why us? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an Aunt Bridget?” 

“I don’t think she’s technically my _aunt_. I’m pretty sure she’s one of my dad’s cousins, maybe. As for choosing us? Who knows? Maybe she really liked a homemade gift I gave her as a kid or maybe it’s a solidarity thing? She caused quite a stir when she brought Zainab to Thanksgiving dinner back in the nineties” Foggy shrugs. “Or maybe she just put a bunch of names in a hat, and I'm the lucky cousin-once-removed.” 

That gets a chuckle out of Matt. “Does that make me the lucky cousin-once-removed-in-law?”

“Well, it does now!” Foggy laughs.

“If you think the twins will handle it well, I think a break would be nice.”

Foggy nods, says as much, and presses a quick kiss to the corner of Matt’s mouth. 

\--

There are plenty of things in Matt’s life that he knows he has every right to be proud of, something Foggy has hammered into him after years of listening to Matt’s self-deprecation. He graduated summa cum laude, he started his own law firm and he helps good, honest people. He’s married to Foggy Nelson. He is the father of two bright children.

On principle, Matt is wary of feeling too prideful, but managing to get both of those children to pack a balance of beach-appropriate clothes, pajamas, underwear, and toys without too much fussing threatens to surpass all the other things on his list. 

Their vacation officially starts tomorrow. Foggy spent the day at the offices, wrapping up a few things with Kirsten. Matt is finally zipping his and Foggy’s shared suitcase closed when he hears Foggy stepping out of cab on the street outside. He has takeout with him, it takes Matt a long moment to focus in on it and identify the food. Italian, almost definitely, judging by the mix of spices, but he can’t quite place the restaurant yet. 

Matt makes his way to the kid’s room, stretching his senses out to make sure there aren’t any toys out on the floor. He’s thankful there’s nothing overly obtrusive. He makes a mental note to have the kids clean up _all_ of their toys before bed tonight. He taps the palm of his hand on the doorpost of the twin’s open bedroom door. 

“Hi Papa,” Jay calls from her bed. She has a book in her hands. She’s been struggling with her letters since she started first grade, but even with mild dyslexia she has poured through her _Junie B. Jones_ books. Matt and Foggy made sure to pack some of her favorites for the plane ride. 

“What is Junie B. getting up to this time?” He asks as he sits down on her bed. Charlie is sitting by his own bed, very focused on his action figures he has arranged in some sort of array, Matt’s not sure of the shape from just a broad sweep, so he lets him continue to play. 

“Not Junie B. Jones today, Papa. This is _Magic Tree House_ ,” Jay explains, not an ounce of frustration or sass in her correction, working around Matt’s blindness like it’s second-nature. 

“Oh, I remember those. I think I had a few of those when I was around your age,” 

“You did?” Her small voice fills with excitement. 

Matt smiles and nods. “But I don’t remember much. Why don’t you read me a little bit before Daddy gets here with dinner?”

Jay’s little heart plays an excited rhythm in Matt’s ears as she moves to sit next to him on the edge of the bed. “Okay, so Jack and Annie are in a cowboy town right now,” She gives him a little synopsis of what she’d read so far before jumping into the scene she’s currently working on. She speaks in a slow but confident voice, taking her time on trickier words. There are a few she can’t figure out on her own so she carefully spells them out and Matt gives her the correct pronunciation, and definition when she asks. 

She’s in the middle of a scene when Matt hears Foggy enter the apartment. He can hear and smell as his husband moves around the kitchen, setting plates and placing silverware before coming down the hall and standing in the doorframe. Matt is hardly surprised when Foggy stops and waits patiently as Jay continues reading. 

When she reaches the end of the chapter she reaches for her bookmarks and makes and big show of sliding it into place and clapping the paperback shut with a ‘smack’. Matt’s grin grows wider and he kisses Jay’s forehead as Foggy claps his hands. 

“That was so good, Jaybird!” Foggy cheers. 

“Food?” Jay asks bluntly, her flushed cheeks are two little sunspots in Matt’s world on fire. Charlie looks up from his toys at the word. 

Foggy laughs. “Yes, Miss Manners. I brought food. Go wash up.” 

Jay jumps off of her bed, her book thrown haphazardly toward her pillow, and follows Foggy out of the bedroom. 

Matt stands and moves to squat by Charlie. “You hungry, bud?” 

Charlie nods before adding. “‘Nodded,” 

Charlie goes through bouts where he prefers not to speak. Matt’s thankful that he can tell when Charlie nods or shakes his head without narration, but it certainly makes it easier when he does. And he knows it’s good for Charlie to get used to verbalizing his feelings. 

“Okay.” Matt raises his right hand at roughly Charlie’s eyeline. “Do you want to clean up your toys now?” He raises his left hand parallel to his right. “Or do you want to clean them up before bed?” 

Charlie hums, considering the options he has before he high-fives Matt’s right hand. Matt nods. He reminds Charlie to wash his hands before coming to the kitchen, and he stands to join Foggy and Jay at the table. Foggy has already portioned out everyone’s plates. Cheese ravioli for the kids and a carbonara split between himself and Matt, plus roasted vegetables all around. 

The night continues easily. Foggy double checks their packing lists, puts all their luggage (plus two car seats) in a neat pile by the front door, and sets several extra-early alarms. 

“We still going with the sneak attack plan?” He asks Matt as they climb into bed, pulling Matt out of his focus on both kids’ heartbeats beating steady in their sleep. 

“Is it really a sneak attack if we went over it with them twenty minutes ago?” 

“They’re going to be asleep as we move them from the apartment to the cab. They’ll wake up in an airport. That's a sneak attack if I’ve ever heard one,” Foggy explains as he wraps his arms around Matt’s waist. 

Matt relaxes, letting the sounds of his family lull him to sleep.

“Are we too old to join the Mile High Club?” Foggy’s voice cuts through the air. 

\-- 

Charlie woke up in the car. So Matt has a duffel bag on one shoulder, his cane in one hand, and Charlie’s hand in his other. Foggy has a sleeping Jay balanced on his hip, a backpack, and their suitcase rolling in front of him. The kids each have their backpacks on. Getting through baggage claim lightens their load significantly. Matt settles down in some empty seats near their gate with Jay in his lap and Charlie tapping at some sort of game on Foggy’s phone in the seat next to him.

The airport, as a whole, is sensory hell. Matt’s grateful that their gate is not particularly crowded, but he still has to slowly peel away each layer of input so he can focus on what matters. Foggy returns from a venture to find a marginally cheap snack to hold the kids at bay. 

When it’s finally time to start boarding, Jay and Charlie have both been awake for just long enough that they begin to whine about their boredom. Foggy gets out of his seat to kneel in front of his family. 

“Okay, kiddos, it’s almost time to get on the plane.” Foggy ruffles Charlie’s hair. “You, Bug, are gonna stick with Papa. And Jay and I will be sitting right behind you two.” Charlie nods and plays with Matt’s fingers where they are interlaced with his own. 

When their group is called to board, Foggy and Jay walk ahead of Matt and Charlie. The flight is barely two hours, so the plane is relatively small. One side has three seats per row, the other only two. Charlie counts each row they pass as he leads Matt, who kept his cane folded up space’s sake, down the aisle. He almost runs into Jay when Foggy stops and announces they’ve reached their seats. They’re on the side with two seats per row, and Matt sends up a silent prayer in thanks. 

Both kids take the window seats as Foggy stuff’s his backpack in the overhead compartment. He moves quickly and squeezes Matt’s arm, following it with a peck on the cheek before he sits next to Jay. Matt leans down some and feels for the armrest in front of him so he can maneuver into his own spot. People are staring at him. Some of the heartbeats around him are elevated, attraction or maybe nerves over flying, but they’re mostly drowned out by the roar of a plane landing on the next runway over. 

Matt sits and does his best to focus on Charlie. He’s humming, mostly a consistent pitch with an occasional shift, and wagging his hands back and forth. Matt reaches over and pats his hand around before landing on Charlie’s seat belt and fastening it. The couple across the aisle are still staring at him, so he keeps his cover and acts like he isn’t acutely aware of everything happening around Charlie. He does his own seat belt and pulls a small cardboard box from the pocket of his jeans. He produces two pairs of putty ear plugs and quickly fits his own in. 

“Hey, kiddo,” He waits for a soft double-pat on his hand, Charlie’s listening. “It might get loud in here. And when the plane gets way up in the sky, it might make your ears feel a little funny,” He explains softly. Part of the reason he and Foggy decided which of them sat with which kid was how much more Matt understood any sensory issues Charlie faced. Unwanted noises seems to be Charlie’s biggest issue. Matt already had ear plugs on hand for everyday life as a parent of young children. They didn’t work as well as they might for an average person, but they were better than nothing. When they were packing for the trip, Matt made sure to get plenty for Charlie, more for when they all go swimming, and even some just in case Jay didn’t react well to the air pressure change. “Do you want some ear plugs?” 

“Yeah,” 

So Matt helps Charlie shape his to fit his ears before twisting his arm to hand the package to Foggy behind him in case Jay needs a pair. 

“Have you ever been on a plane before?” Charlie whispers, his voice quiet but still ringing clear in Matt’s ears despite the plugs. 

Matt shakes his head. “Nope. This is my first time on one.”

“Are you scared?” 

“No, because I’ve got you right next to me and Daddy and Jay right behind me,”

Charlie’s anxious heartbeat settles but only just. Matt sets his elbow on the armrest between him and Charlie and lets his forearm lie flat with his hand palm up. “Let’s make a deal,” He says quietly. “If you start to feel scared or worried, you can just grab my hand and squeeze. And if I do, I’ll grab yours. Alright?”

“Yeah,”

Take off is a lot for both Matt and Charlie, but once the plane reaches cruising altitude, Charlie lets go of Matt’s hand and asks for the puzzle game packed in his backpack. Matt puts on his headphones and lets an audiobook Foggy suggested drone on in an attempt to distract himself. It isn’t easy on his senses, but the flight carries on uneventfully. The twins stay entertained, and Matt only feel part-way overstimulated. All in all he couldn’t ask for much more of a flight.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Two is forthcoming! Just don't ask me when because we are nearing finals week.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Please comment and kudos if you enjoyed it! I hope to write plenty more.


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